


Out of Sight of Land

by Sapphy



Series: Tumblr Fics [11]
Category: Constantine (Comic), DCU (Comics), Hellblazer & Related Fandoms, Injustice: Gods Among Us
Genre: 5+1 Things, Canon Bisexual Character, Canonical Character Death, Character Study, Coats, Falling In Love, Ficlet, Grief/Mourning, Multi, Murder, Polyamory, Wordcount: 500-1.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-05
Updated: 2015-02-05
Packaged: 2018-03-10 15:27:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3295427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sapphy/pseuds/Sapphy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five times other people wore the iconic trenchcoat, and one time John Constantine did.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Out of Sight of Land

**Author's Note:**

  * For [KittyAug](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KittyAug/gifts).



> This fic was written for KittyAug as one of the prizes in my tumblr fic giveaway. I hope you like it bb!
> 
> The name of Rose's mother isn't canonical, I pretty much just picked it at random.
> 
> Title comes from Venus of the Hardsell, of course.

**1**

Nick Necro is handsomer than John had been expecting, but also a lot less flashy. He’s got a certain charisma that draws the eye, but he’s ordinarily, even boringly dressed, shirt and tie and a beige trenchcoat with the collar popped, like a bloody noir detective. John’s first thought is that he can’t see what a stunner like Zatanna sees in him, and then Nick smiles at her, sugar sweet and hellfire hot, and okay, maybe John can see the attraction there. Just a bit.

 

**2**

The kid is tiny, six or seven at his best guess, but scrawny and undersized, shivering in Spiderman pyjamas and bare feet, staring blankly at the spreading pool of blood that covers the floor. 

John’s not sure if they’re a boy or girl, and doesn’t much care. He does care that the child is shaking with the beginnings of real shock, and no one is doing anything, all too interested in the mangled remains of the poor tykes parents, as though there’s anything they can do for them.

He’s supposed to be keeping a low profile, keeping out of the police’s way and off their radar, but the Almighty himself couldn’t have stopped him shrugging off his coat and wrapping it round the child’s shoulders, as though the worn fabric will protect from the horrors that lurk in the darkness.

 

**3**

Zee turns out to own a grand total of no practical clothing, which is why she’s joining him on this slog through slaughter swamp wearing black leather trousers that squeak when she moves, a lacy top that shows her bra, and the coat.

He’s trying not to think about that, because the last time he saw her wearing it Nick had still been around and John had been a skinny young prick, trailing behind them like a puppy and fantasising about getting to be the filling in that particular sandwich. (The sex turned out to be better than he’d imagined, the emotional fallout unimaginably worse).

 

**4**

The thing John hates most about shapeshifters, more than the fact that they’re mostly completely fucking mental and have no respect for human life, is the fact that they always seem to end up stealing his clothes.

In the films, those terrible 50s B movies he used to watch on TV as a lad, they could always transform the clothes as well, but in reality the bastards generally end up either fucking him or knocking him out, and stealing his coat. It’s bloody inconvenient, and confusing. He has no idea why any of them would want even a sliver of his life. Unless they just want the coat. It is a nice coat.

 

**5**

“Look, mum, I’m a magician!”

Rose is standing in the doorway of her mum’s tiny suburban house, John’s coat draped round her shoulders like a cloak, brandishing a wooden spoon like a wand.

John chuckles, ignoring Destiny’s scowl, and makes a shower of coloured sparks shoot from the handle of the spoon. Rose’s squeals of delight are totally worth the dressing down he’ll inevitably get later.

 

**+1**

It’s raining, not the heavy satisfying kind of rain you always get at funerals in fiction, but a light drizzle, stinging his face and making him hunch deeper into the coat.

It’s just him and Zee at the graveside, standing a little way apart, their grief too sharp and new to want comfort.

Nick’s coat is just a little bit too big, just enough to be comfy, and it still smells like Nick, like his Calvin Klein aftershave, and his horrible menthol fags, and the cold air smell of magic. It’s comforting and heartbreaking all at once. It won’t last, even this light rain will be washing out some of the scent, but John’s going to keep the coat, a little part of Nick he can carry with him wherever he goes.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are love
> 
> I'm on tumblr at sapphywatchesyousleep and lentilswitheverything


End file.
